No Power, No Patience

One Week After Hurricane Isabel, Much Of Area Remains In Dark

Communication Breakdown Has Caused Generator, Ice Shortage

The day after Hurricane Isabel ravaged Hampton Roads, Newport News officials gave the state a laundry list of supplies they needed. Six generators topped the list.

Wednesday, the seventh day without electricity in much of the city, portable power still occupied the top spot on the city's list -- its 12th written appeal for help -- even as the official in charge of federal recovery efforts in Virginia said his agency has 61 generators in storage.

David Fukutomi's agency -- the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA -- takes orders from the state. And Virginia officials have asked FEMA to deliver only eight generators, Fukutomi said.

Michael Cline, the state emergency coordinator, immediately rejected Fukutomi's comments and disputed his contention that FEMA has delivered all that was asked of it.

"That's really disappointing to hear him say that," Cline said.

Frustrated local officials were less than impressed to learn that generators are available.

"It's all wonderful, but we haven't seen any of the stuff," said Newport News Mayor Joe Frank.

The generator mixup highlights a breakdown in communication among local, state and federal officials that has caused shortages of ice and water as well as generators in the week that Hampton Roads residents have endured the hurricane's aftermath.

The generators are needed to power the health department offices, traffic lights, the sewage system and the sprinklers at city golf courses.

As power is restored in more and more neighborhoods the need for help becomes less critical, officials said.

But ice is still needed to help residents keep food from spoiling. Generators would help keep sewage moving through underground pipes and drinking water moving through community-well systems in rural areas.

In Suffolk, city officials bought 15 generators from a company in Kentucky a few days ago after giving up on help from the state. Newport News also went elsewhere to find portable power.

Cities and counties have had to order ice from outside the state, and even when the state supply arrives, localities must borrow refrigerated trucks to deliver the ice before it melts.

"Most of the ice that's coming in has been because of private companies stepping up," said Don Robertson, an assistant county administrator in Isle of Wight County.

FEMA's Fukutomi met with Hampton City Manager George Wallace Wednesday morning, a day after Wallace complained that FEMA and state officials had badly mismanaged the recovery effort.

"We realize they're frustrated," Fukutomi said, "no more frustrated than me that they can't get what they need."

Each day more ice is coming into Hampton Roads. Initially, FEMA provided twice as much ice as the state requested because the agency anticipated that it would be needed, Fukutomi said.

"The first couple of days we filled virtually every request that came to FEMA," Fukutomi said.

But Fukutomi said he realized Wednesday that his agency hasn't received all the requests that localities are making.

Hampton officials have asked for National Guardsman. They got 44 on Sunday.

They asked for propane fuel to run the city's own generators. It hasn't arrived.

The city asked for 4,000 gallons of purified water to be used for dialysis patients at Hampton Sentara Careplex on Friday. That water never came.

On four consecutive days beginning Saturday, Hampton asked for eight trucks of ice daily. As of Wednesday afternoon, the city had received a total of five and a half truckloads of ice.

Fukutomi said he saw Hampton's list of unmet needs for the first time on Wednesday. The list he saw and the requests FEMA has received from the state on Hampton's behalf were significantly different, Fukutomi said, a situation he called "very disturbing."

But Cline of the state's Department of Emergency Management said FEMA has not provided everything the state has requested.

The state expected a delivery of 72 truckloads of ice on Monday, Cline said, but received 22. Those numbers were about the same on Tuesday -- 68 expected and around 20 received. It requested 80 truckloads Wednesday.

"We'll see how many come in," Cline said.

He said the state has tried to work with FEMA, and will continue to do so in attempt to make things run more smoothly.

"I hope this is just a little blip," he said. "Obviously, there are frustrations."

Cline said that when the state receives requests from localities it determines whether to pass the request along to FEMA or to satisfy it through other means. He said, "It's very seldom that it comes in on the front end and you're able to just turn to another agency or resource and say, 'Be there.'"

For example, the state maintains a list of contractors who can provide generators. Those ran out quickly after the hurricane. The same is true for other commodities. The state coordinates deliveries but doesn't maintain stockpiles.

Emergency officials from all the localities and the state have held conference-call discussions twice a day since the hurricane.